Porsche Extending Charging Beyond My Free One Year

[Fun TC Driving]

Just received this email (screen print) with my own one year of purchase ending on April 4th. All it additionally says is ‘any questions, call Porsche Customer Service.”

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[PrudentOcean]

Access to the Porsche Charging Service is free. Charging is not.

 

[Fun TC Driving]

Thanks Porsche for an initial big tease, your starting with the word Complimentary, so this service is extended free, however charging will be charged. Hmm

 

[daveo4EV]

Thanks Porsche for an initial big tease, your starting with the word Complimentary, so this service is extended free, however charging will be charged. Hmm

it is a service of sorts - if you do not have Porsche charging service you have to use several different apps and billing methods to access all those different charging networks - and you would not have plug&charge at two of them

it doesn't seem like much but there is work required from Porsche to make all that "just work".

 

[daveo4EV]

it is a service of sorts - if you do not have Porsche charging service you have to use several different apps and billing methods to access all those different charging networks - and you would not have plug&charge at two of them

it doesn't seem like much but there is work required from Porsche to make all that "just work".

also one has to keep in mind Porsche is a global company - they provide Porsche charging service world wide, but bundle access to different charging services based on region - they do this for brand control and in theory to smooth our the rough edges that would be present otherwise…they can also add/remove charging services to the Porsche charging service and keep the user experience the same for their customers…

there is no _ADVANTAGE_ to Porsche charging service vs. using a network's native app - but having worked with people for years in tech people sometimes dont' put the effort in to understand what it's going to take to:

• charge at Electrify America
• charge at Tesla Supercharger
• charge at ChargePoint EV chargers

without Porsche charging service that 3 separate apps, 3 separate accounts - and in particular it's 3 things you need to setup and download that most people don't even realize that they exist - and 3 very different user experiences to start a charging session if you review what it takes to start a charging session in each of those 3 separate apps…

also I have to imagine there is the additional best effort that Porsche makes to have "porsche charging service" eV charging locations integrated with PCN Navigation…

now for me the real "benefit" of Porsche charging service would if I could use Porsche charging service EV chargers entirely with PCM software only - no need to use the Porsche App on Android/iOS…I betcha that's on their road map but just not quite there yet for the in-car user experience and setup…but we'll see…

for medium to tech savy people the Porsche charging service seems like no big deal - but I've met of number of Porsche owners and people over the years that the complexity of having to know and setup 3 separate apps to charge their EV is a level of friction they would find difficult to surmount - it confuses me personally but I've seen it first hand…

the Porsche charging service is nothing burger if you know what you're doing in hte world - it's a big boost in usability for people that can't be bothered to figure things out for themselves.

 

[MatC21]

now for me the real "benefit" of Porsche charging service would if I could use Porsche charging service EV chargers entirely with PCM software only - no need to use the Porsche App on Android/iOS…I betcha that's on their road map but just not quite there yet for the in-car user experience and setup…but we'll see…

Isnt that already the case with Plug and Charge? Or does that not exist in America?

 

[rcomeau]

also one has to keep in mind Porsche is a global company - they provide Porsche charging service world wide, but bundle access to different charging services based on region - they do this for brand control and in theory to smooth our the rough edges that would be present otherwise…they can also add/remove charging services to the Porsche charging service and keep the user experience the same for their customers…

there is no _ADVANTAGE_ to Porsche charging service vs. using a network's native app - but having worked with people for years in tech people sometimes dont' put the effort in to understand what it's going to take to:

• charge at Electrify America
• charge at Tesla Supercharger
• charge at ChargePoint EV chargers

without Porsche charging service that 3 separate apps, 3 separate accounts - and in particular it's 3 things you need to setup and download that most people don't even realize that they exist - and 3 very different user experiences to start a charging session if you review what it takes to start a charging session in each of those 3 separate apps…

also I have to imagine there is the additional best effort that Porsche makes to have "porsche charging service" eV charging locations integrated with PCN Navigation…

now for me the real "benefit" of Porsche charging service would if I could use Porsche charging service EV chargers entirely with PCM software only - no need to use the Porsche App on Android/iOS…I betcha that's on their road map but just not quite there yet for the in-car user experience and setup…but we'll see…

for medium to tech savy people the Porsche charging service seems like no big deal - but I've met of number of Porsche owners and people over the years that the complexity of having to know and setup 3 separate apps to charge their EV is a level of friction they would find difficult to surmount - it confuses me personally but I've seen it first hand…

the Porsche charging service is nothing burger if you know what you're doing in hte world - it's a big boost in usability for people that can't be bothered to figure things out for themselves.

If the Macan is not your first EV, you will already likely no less than a dozen different accounts and associated apps for the different networks. In addition to the usual suspects for DC fast charging, every hotel stay on a road trip usually involves yet another obscure network for L2 charging.

I imagine Porsche gets a cut in the charging fees collected, so there is a financial incentive for them to make this easier for you.

 

[jwatte]

Isnt that already the case with Plug and Charge? Or does that not exist in America?

Plug and Charge exists, but you have to have some billing relationship with the network, and there are many different networks available. Porsche's attempt at value-add is to set up relationships with multiple networks (Electrify America, Chargepoint, Tesla) so you can go to any of them without needing to have a separate account for each.

If they can manage to do it with the vast majority of networks, that might actually be great, assuming they get their middleman fee from the networks rather than from the users. Also, it's likely they want too much of a middleman fee, so many of the networks may never actually sign on. That's usually how these efforts play out -- people aren't willing enough to give up a little margin for a better user experience that would dominate the world long term if it succeeded.

 

[PrudentOcean]

While I have had a good experience with Plug & Charge at EA, it’s only slightly more convenient than just using contactless payment for charging. You don’t need to have proprietary apps or join their networks (though there may be better rates if you do).

When a friend’s daughter got her first electric vehicle I took her to an EA to show her how to charge her car. I used Apple Pay on my iPhone to pay for her charging session without ever touching the EVSE screen — double-clicking the Action button took one second and was all that was needed.

 

[Stuart]

in europe we get 4 years of the porsche charging subscription then after that its 16 euro a month. But the charging fees especially for the fast chargers are about 20 cents a kWh cheaper than the normal price. 4 years is a good length as I normally change my cars every 3-4 years.

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